On Wednesday, February 15th, 2006, Agency Liaisons met to kick off a series of monthly Liaison Business Meetings for the Ohio Administrative Knowledge System (OAKS). The meetings serve to support the role of the Agency Liaison by communicating relevant information at the right time with the right amount of detail for them to be effective in their role.

Each Agency Liaison is tasked with guiding the OAKS implementation within their agency, a role that has increased in intensity and complexity as more people within each agency are asked to assist with OAKS project activities. As the project nears its first scheduled implementation in December 2006, the pace of this activity continues to increase.

"The meeting served as an excellent opportunity to get all state agencies working on the same page," stated Keith Albert, agency liaison for the Department of Public Safety. "This type of coordination empowers each agency to contribute to the successful implementation of OAKS," he said.

At the meeting, Agency Liaisons reviewed the progress of the OAKS project from an enterprise perspective by evaluating the results of the statewide agency dashboard, a performance management tool measuring the Ohio's progress on the OAKS project. Additionally, the business meeting provided an opportunity for members of the OAKS project management office (PMO) to present information in their area of expertise directly to Agency Liaisons. Presenters representing OAKS technical, financials, human capital management (HCM) and change management teams introduced nine new tasks to be completed by agencies associated with OAKS.

In addition to sharing information about the work going on at the OAKS PMO, the meeting addressed issues specific to the AITs/M-AITs, such as team member orientation and knowledge transfer. All Agency Liaisons in attendance received a binder containing valuable tools to facilitate these transitions on their team.

The purpose of the OAKS project is to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the administrative processes of the State of Ohio. The first of four scheduled implementations will occur on December 18, 2006 and will include software functionality for the state's human resource processes. Completion of the entire system is set for July 2008.

For further information contact:
OAKS Communications at OAKS.Communications@oaks.state.oh.us